Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #55 from the series: Some parts seem forgotten, 2020, photocollage, 32.1 x 48.4 cm.
ArteEast is pleased to present an interview with artist Ibrahim Ahmed as part of our Artist Spotlight.
Born in Kuwait (1984), Ibrahim Ahmed spent his childhood between Bahrain and Egypt before moving to the US at the age of thirteen. In 2014, he relocated to Cairo, where he currently lives and works in the informal neighbourhood of Ard El Lewa. Ahmed’s manipulations of material, especially textile, are informed by research into the histories and movements of people and objects. His works in mixed media, photocollage, sculpture, and installation engage with subjects related to colonisation, structures of power, cultural interactions, and fluid identity, generating discussion around ideas of the self and notions of authenticity within the parameters of the nation-state.
Untitled (Sketch) (from Hafriyat Series), 2012, Mixed Media on Wood, 24 x 24 in / 60.9 x 60.9 cm
Untitled (Sketch) (from Hafriyat Series), 2012, Mixed Media on Wood, 24 x 24 in / 60.9 x 60.9 cm
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #20 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 32.2 x 28.5 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #35 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 24.1 x 23.9 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #41 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 49.6 x 33.6 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #59 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 50×40 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #63 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 49.9 x 30.1 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #73 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 48.7 x 27.1 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #75 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 48.6 x 33.2 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #41 from the series: Some parts seem forgotten, 2020, photocollage, 34.4 x 47 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #55 from the series: Some parts seem forgotten, 2020, photocollage, 32.1 x 48.4 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #56 from the series: Some parts seem forgotten, 2020, photocollage, 31.9 x 40.9 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #41 from the series: Quickly but carefully cross to the other side, 2020, photocollage, 55.2 x 38.3 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #90 from the series: Quickly but carefully cross to the other side, 2020, photocollage, 63.5 x 64.5 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #91 from the series: Quickly but carefully cross to the other side, 2020, photocollage, 68 x 97 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #5 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 30 x 21.5 cm.
Ibrahim Ahmed, Figure #9 from the series: You can’t recognize what you don’t know, 2020, photocollage, 39.5 x 27.2 cm.
AE: What has your practice/ career focused on during the past five years?
IA: I have been working on a body of work that is focused on my relationship to masculinity, the performance of it, and with the term ‘toxic masculinity’ in mind, what are its effects on a spiritual and mental level. From the personal and intimate lens, I expand the scope outward, and observe my father through using family archival images that span 50 years. There are four iterations of this overarching theme on masculinity. The most recent is titled ‘quickly but carefully cross to the other side’, which emerges from ‘you can’t recognize what you don’t know’. In the latest series I’m dissecting my father’s postures amidst other masculine bodies, including my own, while also highlighting the places and things he captures. Images of cars, national monuments, military parades and museums are amongst the things he deems important to not only capture, but to visit with my brothers and I. I’m hoping that the four iterations of this body of work that date back to 2016, allow the space for me to let go, move forward, and evolve. Maybe this also becomes a visual diary of warnings for others? I can’t hold my breath on that, but I guess it’s just wishful thinking.
AE: How have you evolved or changed your work with the challenges and/or opportunities of the past few years in the contemporary global art world?
IA: My work has evolved according to my personal journey, the things I see and observe. My practice doesn’t necessarily consider the art world. The art world is an interesting term to use, because it assumes that there is neutrality, or somehow that there is a global universalism, that is void of political dynamics which influence/orchestrate who is seen and how are they consumed, and what is accessible. I just make what I make. I do engage in discourses that inform my work, and I’ve been lucky that this has kept my practice relevant, or at least I hope so. I’ll continue to do what I do, regardless of what is ‘in’ and what is deemed ‘edgy’.
AE: What are you currently working on or considering?
IA: I am currently working through my masculinity project. Chipping away at it day by day, waiting patiently for it to take me somewhere else. I’m also taking on a new project that would look at everyday mundane gestures as a point from where one could create a discourse on local aesthetics in the context of Egypt. I want to open this conversation up because to assume that art schools in Europe or the US are teaching universal art theory is a misstep. It is localized theory from very specific experiences presented as universal law, which again is not something one could apply around the world. How does one go about this considering I am myself an indoctrinated subject? I’m just scratching the surface, but it’s something I’ve been wondering about for some time.
AE: How, if at all, have you been making use of this time of self-isolation? Have there been any creative gains or challenges?
IA: I’ve been making use of isolation by reaching out to other artists and learning about practices that extend beyond my own understandings of production practices and creative philosophies. Amidst a lot of self reflection and personal growth. Unpacking a lot of issues that have kept me stuck in place for quite some time. I have made works from time to time, but I don’t feel the necessity to make work, or produce. Staying sane is my main goal at this point. I’ve had to shut down my studio, working from home, and sometimes I require myself to just sit still.
AE: What have you given thought to doing or creating once the global pandemic subsides?
IA: For the longest time I’ve been always wrapped up in the future, triggering anxieties and imbalance internally. So I’d say to this question, in all honesty, I’ve stopped thinking about a distant future, and am more focused on today. One day at a time. I’ve never felt as present as I feel in these times, and I’ve found that it allows for me to stay centered. When that moment comes, where things open up and life returns to some level of normalcy, I will consider what is next in line for me as an artist. Until then, I’m just continuing my internalized process, and learning to sit with it. I’ve been running for too long, and it’s about time I feel what I need to feel.
Ahmed has shown his work in solo exhibitions at Primary, Nottingham (2019) Sara Zanin Gallery, Rome (2018); Gallery Nosco, Marseille (2018); Volta Art Fair, New York (2016); Townhouse Gallery, Cairo (2016); artellewa art space, Cairo (2014); and Solo(s) Project House, Newark (2010). His work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including at the Sharjah Art Museum, Dakar Biennial, Havana Biennial, Biennale Internationale de Casablanca, No Longer Empty, New York, Swab Barcelona, and the Dubai Design District.
Ibrahim Ahmed is represented by Sara Zanin Gallery in Rome, Italy and Tintera Gallery in Cairo, Egypt.
IBRAHIM AHMED ONLINE:
Instagram: ibrahimahmediii
Website: https://www.ibrahimahmediii.com/
